The Receiving Loop
In the 2011 Miami Final, Rafael Nadal hit a winner past Novak Djokovic that looked rather strange on TV (the point). The ball landed quite close to him, at least, close in the scope...
The Split-Step: Why, When, and How
The split-step is an athletic hop done immediately prior to receiving a ball in tennis. The player hops a few inches off the ground and lands with their feet wider than shoulder width apart....
Triple Flexion Athleticism
There’s a lot that goes into athletic movement, but the basic idea is pretty simple – the more muscle you can recruit to help you move and balance, the more athletic you’re going to...
Smashing Through Plateaus
There are three critical, broad skill classes you need to master in order to be an elite tennis player. In order, they are: If you’re good at these three things, you’ll be an elite...
Zverev’s Brutal Injury – What Can We Learn?
Nothing is more painful, frustrating, and sometimes, devastating, than injury. We all remember the great Roger Federer shedding tears after losing the 2009 Australian Open final, only to beat Andy Roddick at Wimbledon later...
All Forehands Are Inside-Out Forehands
I work with a 10-year-old girl named Anna who presents with an interesting issue. When she’s pulled out wide on the forehand, her stroke looks great, but when the ball comes right to her,...
How the Feet Liberate the Hips
A full hip rotation is impossible if both of your feet are firmly planted on the ground. Trying to rotate your hips while your feet stay planted will put a large amount of torsion...
Foot Striking – The Overlooked Key to Speed
The human foot is a masterfully designed piece of biological machinery. It’s job – to safely absorb and transfer the force generated when our bodies hit, and then press off, the ground. Lucky for...
Foot Striking Warm Up
If we’d all grown up barefoot from birth, we’d probably strike the ground properly without even thinking about it. Alas, since that’s not the case, proper foot striking, like everything else, is a skill...